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If you’re finding yourself a little short on assets — real estate, farm equipment — when you’re going for that next loan, maybe you can make up the difference with a little cheese.

Cheese happens to be an acceptable form of collateral if you’re seeking a loan from Credito Emiliano bank in Italy, according to The Washington Post.

In this part of the world, cheese is a serious asset. Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese needs to be aged 18-36 months. Just one wheel could be worth thousands of dollars, so it’s not a bad investment for a bank.

“We are a traditional bank active in supporting Parmigiano-Reggiano producers,” Fausto Filippi, a banker from Credito Emiliano said. “The decision to use Parmigiano-Reggiano for this type of credit program is simply due to the fact that this is a typical product that is unique to this area.”

United Continental’s financial health showed strength on Monday even as the giant airline’s brand suffered from a week-long battering following the release of a now-infamous video showing a passenger being dragged off an overbooked flight in Chicago, The Washington Post reports.

United’s stock was robust, spiking to $71.50 a share in after-hours trading Monday after the financial results were announced. With Monday’s climb, the shares are above where they were during the heart of the fallout.

“It is obvious from recent experiences that we need to do a much better job serving our customers,” chief executive Oscar Munoz said in a news release accompanying the earnings.

Advisers to President Donald Trump will meet today to discuss whether the United States should withdraw from the Paris climate accord, according to Reuters.

The accord, agreed on by nearly 200 countries in Paris in 2015, aims to limit climate change in part by slashing carbon dioxide and other emissions from the burning of fossil fuels. Under the pact, the United States committed to reducing its emissions by 26 to 28 percent from 2005 levels by 2025, Reuters reports.

Trump has said the United States should “cancel” the deal, but he has been mostly quiet on the issue since he was elected.

Supreme Court Justice Neil Gorsuch came out swinging Monday in an inaugural oral argument that showed the rookie conservative’s considerable self-confidence — and some of his judicial inclinations, Michael Doyle of the McClatchy Washington Bureau writes.

The case Monday, brought by a longtime U.S. Census Bureau worker against the Merit Systems Protection Board, revolved around a highly technical question about which court should hear the worker’s appeal.

Gorsuch waited only about seven minutes before he asked his first question, following four of his more senior colleagues. He pressed the worker’s attorney with a series of setups and follow-ups that extended longer than many at the high court.

Glenn Beck and the Blaze have filed a countersuit against Tomi Lahren, pushing back against her claim that she was fired for her pro-choice views, Reuters reports.

Instead, in their lawsuit filed in Dallas County Court in Texas, Beck and his media company say that her employment agreement “remains in full force and effect,” but they say that the suspension of her show in March was due to “divisive” employment conduct.

Lahren sued earlier this month for wrongful termination, claiming that she was fired after an appearance on “The View” in which she expressed pro-choice beliefs. She also said that she was shut out of her social media accounts.

“We are actively seeking Antoinne J. Bethea, (also known as “Prince”), whose date of birth is 10-28-1976, via an arrest warrant for the violation of murder,” Lt. David Bushey, who leads the detective division, said Monday night in a news release.

Antoinne J. BetheaBangor Police Department

Bethea is wanted in connection with the death of Terrance Durel Sr., 36, of New Orleans and formerly Brewer, who was shot near 125 Ohio St. shortly after 3 p.m. Sunday. Durel was take by car to a local hospital, where he died.

When Sen. Bernie Sanders and Democratic National Committee Chairman Tom Perez arrived at the State Theatre on Monday, David Bright planned to be there. Bright, an organic farmer who helped Sanders win the state’s Democratic caucuses, was one of Maine’s four voters in the electoral college. He’d used that role to cast a protest vote for Sanders, relenting and casting a futile vote for Hillary Clinton only after state law forced him to.

Bernie SandersREUTERS

His opinion of the Democratic Party’s “establishment” had not improved much since then.

“The DNC has dropped the ball on one congressional campaign after another,” Bright said told The Washington Post before driving from his farm to Portland. “The only way Perez would be safe to come to Maine is to have Bernie by his side. Otherwise, progressives in this state would tear him apart.”

Before the husky named Dakota started making headlines, Maine Welfare Advisory Council was already planning to advise the Legislature on whether Maine’s “dangerous dog” law should be tougher, the BDN’s Christopher Cousins reports.

Dakota was pardoned recently by Gov. Paul LePage. A District Court judge had ordered the husky euthanized after it attacked other dogs.Photo by Humane Society of the Waterville Area

The council is set to take up the issue at its April 27 meeting at the State House complex in Augusta, according to Rep. Catherine Nadeau, D-Winslow, a council member who argues the state is not doing enough to protect its residents and their pets from vicious dogs.

Living and events

Talk on “1779-1783 Fort George — Protected by the Crown” by Anette Ruppel Rodrigues at the monthly meeting of Penobscot County Genealogical Society, 6-8 p.m. Wednesday, April 19, Bangor Public Library’s Lecture Hall, 145 Harlow St. She will discuss the international importance of Fort George in Castine, and the “peaceful” state of affairs that existed between Locals, Loyalists, British soldiers and their German reinforcements, who lived together in the Castine community between 1779 and 1783.

Community meet and greet with Starr Kelly, the Abbe Museum’s new curator of education, and Angela Raup, new manager of guest experience, noon-2 p.m. Thursday, April 20, at the museum, 26 Mount Desert St. Participate in white glove artifact experience, learn about upcoming events and explore a special exhibit. Light refreshments. Free.

Auditions for Ten Bucks Theatre’s “The Merry Wives of Windsor,” 2-4 p.m. Saturday and Sunday, April 29 and 30, Community of Christ Church, 128 Pierce Road. Rehearsals begin June 5 and will be held generally 6-9 p.m. Sundays-Thursdays. Performance dates July 20-23 and 27-30, at Indian Trail Park in Brewer; and Aug. 3-6 at Fort Knox in Prospect. For another audition time, contact julie.lisnet@tenbuckstheatre.org or 884-1030.

Two new Maine Historical Society exhibitions exploring Maine’s wartime experience: “World War I & the Maine Experience,” and “The War to End All Wars,” Maine Historical Society, 489 Congress St. in Portland.

After remaining largely silent on the past weekend’s violence in Virginia, Gov. Paul LePage erupted Thursday on the radio. Maine’s Republican governor echoed President Donald Trump’s reaction to the Charlottesville conflict, assigning equal blame to white supremacists and counter-protesters who showed up to oppose a rally against removing a statue of Confederate Gen. Robert E. […]